Goal.com MLS Power Rankings: Week 10

By Kyle McCarthy

FC Dallas returns to the top of this week's salary-infused edition of the Rankings.

Interested observers around MLS spent Monday afternoon scouring through the latest release from the MLS Players Union. Every so often, the Players Union releases a comprehensive list of salaries paid out to its players. The list isn't always 100 percent accurate for a variety of reasons, but it does offer a guide to the compensation for most of the players in the league.

This edition of the Rankings scoured through the list and selected a player on each team who represents good value for his purported wages.

1. FC Dallas – Matt Hedges ($49,500 base salary/$64,500 guaranteed compensation, per MLS Players Union salary figures): The former North Carolina defender established himself as a key fixture in the FCD back line when injuries took hold last season. (2)

2. Montréal – Felipe ($150,000/$152,500): Impact executives plucked this clever Brazilian midfielder out of the Swiss second division before the start of last season. They could sell him for seven figures now after his assured first season in the league. (3)

3. Houston – Boniek Garcia ($130,000/$161,200): Credit the Honduran international for injecting a bit of directness and pace into the Dynamo midfield upon his arrival last year. His work on the right side provides the perfect complement to Brad Davis' canny work on the left. (4)

4. Los Angeles – Jose Villarreal ($46,500/$48,375): The U.S. under-20 international could increase his value to his club and his league with an influential display in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey next month. (1)

5. Sporting Kansas City – Oriol Rosell ($110,000/$118,750): The former Barcelona trainee fuels Sporting's high-pressure system with his deft and tidy work through midfield. (6)

6. Portland – Mikaël Silvestre ($180,000/$186,666): If Pa Modou Kah does not pan out, then the Timbers will truly understand the importance of the former Manchester United man in central defense. (5)

7. New York – Dax McCarty ($180,000/$222,500): Bargains are always relative, even at this sort of price point for a domestic player. The former FCD man still fits the bill for the Red Bulls because he offers a consistently high level of play in the center of the park for a side that tends to vacillate all too frequently. (10)

8. Real Salt Lake – Joao Plata ($60,000/$60,000): Former TFC striker Plata once warranted a six-figure transfer fee. Now he commands mid-five figures in salary to provide much needed attacking depth and incisiveness for a RSL side that has leaned on him a bit during the early stages of the campaign. (8)

9. Columbus – Andy Gruenebaum ($92,220/$93,886): The former backup goalkeeper has established himself in the top half of the league's goalkeeping ranks without receiving the corresponding paycheck. (7)

10. Colorado – Clint Irwin ($35,125/$35,125): Irwin started the season as the third-choice goalkeeper. His salary – the minimum wage shelled out to an off-budget player – reflects his previous standing. (14)

11. Philadelphia – Raymon Gaddis ($46,500/$46,500): On a roster littered with several lavish contracts, the regular left back supplies a welcome reprieve. (11)

12. San Jose – Victor Bernárdez ($100,000/$100,000): The injury-hit Honduran center back agreed to a cut-price deal when he joined the Earthquakes prior to last season. He misses matches here and there, but his displays last season put him in the running for Defender of the Year. (12)

13. Chivas USA – Dan Kennedy ($192,500/$192,500): No amount of money short of the league maximum constitutes adequate compensation for the barrage Kennedy admirably faces week after week. (9)

14. Seattle – Djimi Traore ($120,000/$120,000): There aren't many Champions League winners willing to play for a yearly pay packet smaller than the weekly wages now drawn by top stars. Traore's decision benefited a Sounders FC side in need of his guidance at the back. (15)

15. New England – José Gonçalves ($75,000/$104,375): Take the on-loan man's salary with a grain of salt given his lingering ties to FC Sion, but the former Portugal youth international has proved his worth several times over in the early stages of this campaign. (16)

16. Chicago – Austin Berry ($63,425/$78,425): The reigning Rookie of the Year misses Arne Friedrich, but his performances over the past year-and-a-half far exceed his modest wages. (17)

17. Vancouver – Nigel Reo-Coker ($200,000/$237,362): Reo-Coker's leadership through this recent difficult patch – plus his Premier League experience and a looming option that could increase his salary substantially – underscores his worth to the Whitecaps. (13)

18. Toronto FC – Robert Earnshaw ($138,000/$155,500): It isn't easy to find a bargain on TFC's bloated roster. Earnshaw – on loan from Cardiff City and presumably still drawing a paycheck from the Premier League-bound side through the summer – represents a welcome change from the expensive status quo. (18)

19. D.C. United – Bill Hamid ($75,000/$89,750): Just imagine United's record to date without the contributions of the aspiring U.S. national team goalkeeper. (19)